summary ofThe FixerBook by Bradley Tusk

first KEY POINT

Tech firms with tech that disrupts the status quo face enormous challenges when it comes to government regulations

When technology causes disruption to an industry, the regulators become defensive and startups have to learn how to play hardball. For example, Uber had to use customer loyalty to fight the New York City taxi lobby and it won. The defensive nature of regulators comes from the fact that they get their jobs via political appointment. The politicians who appoint them get donations from influential people in finance, transportation, health sector, etc. Traditional industries — transportation, energy, health care, education, insurance, finance, hospitality, alcohol, beauty, gaming, housekeeping — don’t look kindly on any form of disruption. They punch back, and they use regulatory bodies to do the punching. This stifles disruption by outsiders and prevents innovation from seeing the light of day.

To fight back, startups need to take their aim at the polls of politicians — that’s their weak point. They are more concerned with getting re-elected than with governing. With a few exceptions — the rare breed — politicians worry about what the media and voters think of them.

There are four basic types of politicians:1. Typical Pols: They preoccupy themselves with validating their insecurities but can also be engaged in hard work under the right circumstances.
2. Ideologues: They are the true believers e.g. the Tea Party, the Green Party, etc.
3. Backbenchers: These are just happy to be in politics and all they care about is re-election.
4. Corrupt Pols: They take bribes, exchange donations for favors, and are in it for selfish reasons.In this summary, you will learn how to overcome the politics that traditional industries use to stifle any company that seeks to disrupt the industry.